John Mayer is setting the record straight about the inspiration behind his iconic 2002 hit, “Your Body Is A Wonderland.” The singer appeared on the Dec. 21 episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast, and host Alex Cooper brought the song up. “You’re dating somebody at the time that you’re writing this iconic song about…” she began. Although she didn’t reference any names, it’s been long speculated that the track is about Jennifer Love-Hewitt, who John dated in 2002.
However, Alex didn’t get to finish her sentence, as John jumped in to clear the air. “No I wasn’t!” he insisted. “That was about my first girlfriend. That was about the feeling, which I think was already sort of nostalgic. I was 21 when I wrote that song, and I was nostalgic for being 16.” Earlier in the interview, John revealed that he had just one serious girlfriend in high school before he got famous, and it turns out she was the inspiration behind “Your Body Is A Wonderland.”
“It’s one of those things where people sort of formed an idea and it gets reinforced over the years,” John admitted. “No, no, no. I never even met a celebrity when I wrote that song.”
John then went on to explain how his songwriting process works when it comes to writing about his personal life, and shared why he never really reveals who his songs are about. “I don’t write songs about people,” John said. “I don’t write them for people or about people. I might use a relationship that inspires me to write something. But even if I was writing a song about someone, it’s like…that goes away and I’m left with the song. So I don’t like telling anyone that a song is about somebody, because most of the time it’s not and it takes people away from themselves because they’re just visualizing who I’m writing about.”
Elsewhere in the interview, John addressed the public’s misconception of him as a “womanizer,” which he said he never set out to do. He also confirmed that he’s very single right now, and admitted that he doesn’t “really date” since he stopped drinking in 2016. However, he insisted that, despite his reputation, he most definitely does want to settle down with someone. “Every relationship I’ve been in was devoted to the idea that this could last,” John shared. “My entire life, today included, if you told me that I could have a great two months with someone, but it would end on the first day of the third month, I would not be interested. I always sought potential for a long-term relationship.”